This weekend’s promotion is largely limited to the premiership of the men – so a quick assessment of the status after three games.
At the top three teams – Watsonians, ESM Lions and Grange – are on maximum points. On the other hand, there are four sides – Clydesdale, Hillhead, Grove Menzieshill and St Andrews University still have to go from the stamp. And the other competitors occupy themselves.
But Place of Place should probably go to Esm Lions who with a hat trick of victories in second place in the table are not bad for one side with just a few seasons in the top flight. It is a team success, but the six goals of Cameron Ede have certainly been a function.
Since ESM entered the Premiership, ESM has shown steady development and ended in the top six at the end of last season. Certainly, the side of Edinburgh still has to face the big guns of the competition, and that will be a real test, but three victories of the three against the sides with which they are confronted is the perfect start.
So what does manager Ross Young have to say about this.
“The start of the season has been good. The boys worked hard in the preseason and have trained and played well. But we all know that it is a long, difficult season, so we are not being taken away with it and we are now just concentrating on the game against Dundee Wanderers on Saturday, which will be a tough meeting against a good hockey side.”
Ross went further.
“We have had a number of new faces that participate in the play team and the way they have integrated with the existing group of boys is great to see. We have a good group of boys who play hockey in the right way and do it with a smile on their face.”
On the goals of the season, Ross said: “This season we want to build on the progress that the team has made in the last few seasons. Ideally, we want to emulate what we have achieved last season and are in the top six for Christmas. The boys are aware that we have to continue working hard in training and playing at our best of our want we want to do that.”
It is Dundee Wanderers on Taysside on Saturday – that can be a tester from the Lions Resolve.
However, something will have to be given at the top with Watsonians who entertain Grange in an Edinburgh Derby. The last time Watsonians came to the top 2-0 and qualified for the first time for Europe.
Just looking at the charges of the Sam Judge statistics have been the most impressive, three comfortable victories score 16 and only give one – quite impressive. And they do not rely on a few strikers, the goals are spread over different players.
Grange, on the other hand, certainly also collected the nine points, but their victories have been less impressive. And it seems that they are in a bit of a transition phase that have lost several important players and test some talented teenagers. – And to a certain extent it must be said.
So what about the chase package. Western Wildcats are lurking two points behind the top three and his way to a hills that still have to get one point on the board. It is difficult to see that the Wildcats have weakened their claws with Fraser Moran, Rob Harwood and Iain McFadden is such an excellent scoring form.
The University of Edinburgh seem to have hit the ground with an exciting draw against Wildcats and a nine target gain on Hillhead, and they go to Inverleith for another Capital Derby. There has always been a lot of talent in the students’ ranking, but the addition of Jamie Golden has given that extra blow … And that can be too much for Inverleith.
The other side to make an impact is Uddingston – after they have lost their opening match heavily on Wildcats, followed the Lanarkshire side with victories over Hillhead and Grove Menzieshill to go to the top six – all goals are from Anup Valmiki and Max Strchan. Coach Tom Hyndman will want to continue the winning trend at Clydesdale, but that can be a challenge despite the bad start of the Dale.
Finally, both Menzieshill and St Andrews University remain useless, but something will change here if they collide on Taysside on Thursday evening. Goals have been here on a premium – only one between them – so perhaps not a high scoring affair in the prospect.
Thursday evening
And something changed on Thursday evening, gross menzieshill moved from the lower sports with a comfortable 5-1 victory at St Andrews University at Tayside, only that left the students at the foot … A tough start for the newcomers of the competition.
The catalyst was a hat trick of penalty corners for John Donald van Menzieshill and there were also neat finishes for Connor Chapman and Ptolemy Goad, although the students registered their first goal of the campaign via Jacob Anderson.
There is no Premiership card for women this weekend, but St. Andrews and Aberdeen -Universities have chosen to play their excellent fixture in the Golf House. The home team must be as favorites for this, they have now had a few years in the top flight and have started this campaign with a convincing victory over Glasgow and a promising draw with wildcats. Aberdeen, on the other hand, is still an unknown amount, they have only played one fixture and that was a 5-1 defeat for Wildcats.
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